ABC's "Kimmel" Scores its Best Young Adult Numbers in 1 Year

Some early points on Jimmy Kimmel Live's weekly numbers, ahead of the regular press release:

During the week of May 30, 2011, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live turned in its best performance of the season in both Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49. In fact, building on the previous week by 39% in Adults 18-34 and by 10% in Adults 18-49, JKL scored its best numbers in both key Adult demos in almost 1 year (since w/o 6/14/10).

In addition, JKL increased its overall audience year to year for the 11th time in the last 12 weeks and grew its Adult 18-49 audience over the year-ago week for the 4th time in 5 weeks.

· For the week of May 30, among key Adults 18-49, ABC's JKL was the #2 late-night entertainment broadcast program, beating CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman (+9%), NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (+8%), CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (+89%) and NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly (+80%). In addition, ABC's JKL topped Comedy Central's Colbert Report (+9%) and TBS' Conan (+118%) and Lopez Tonight (+274%).

· JKL's Tuesday telecast (5/31/11), which featured guests Carson Daly, Flavor Flav and I See Stars, was the ABC late-night program's 2nd-best telecast on any night in late-night this season in Adults 18-34. In fact, posting a season-best on the night in young adults, Tuesday's telecast drew JKL's largest A18-34 audience on the night in almost 1 year - since 6/8/10.

· On Thursday (6/2/11), with guests Jason Sudeikis, Piers Morgan and Lykke Li, JKL posted its 4th-strongest telecast on any night in late-night this season in Adults 18-34. Hitting season highs on the night in both Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49, Thursday's telecast scored JKL's best young adults numbers on the night in nearly 1 year - since 6/17/10.

Ratings Report for ABC News' Nightline For the Week of May 30, 2011

Nightline #1 in Total Viewers for 15 Straight Weeks and for 13th Time in 15 Weeks among Adults 25-54

Season to Date Nightline Ranks First in Late-Night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49

Season to DateNightlineDrawing Largest Overall Audience in 8 Years

During the week of May 30, 2011, ABC's Nightline ranked No. 1 for the 2nd straight week across each of the target demos: Total Viewers (4.862 million), Adults 25-54 (1.736 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.500 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. Nightline finished No. 1 in Total Viewers for 15 straight weeks, while taking the top spot in Adults 25-54 for the 13th time in the last 15 weeks.

Nightline posted week-to-week gains in Adults 25-54 (+2%) and Adults 18-49 (+12%). In fact, the ABC program attracted its largest Adults 18-49 audience in 6 months (since w/o 11/22/10) and 2nd best of the season.

For the 4th time in the last 5 weeks, Nightline improved on its performance on the year-ago week in all key target demos: Total Viewers (+2%), Adults 25-54 (+6%) and Adults 18-49 (+6%). In fact, Nightline posted year-to-year increases in 15 of the last 16 weeks among Total Viewers and in 11 of the last 12 weeks among Adults 25-54.

Season to date Nightline ranks first in late-night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49. This is the first time ever that Nightline has been in first place at this point in the season since at least the 1993-94 season, when Letterman began on CBS. In addition, Nightline is up by +5% in Total Viewers and by +4% in Adults 25-54 compared to the same point last year. Season to date Nightline is drawing its largest overall audience in 8 years - since the 2002-03 season.

*Note: Due to the Memorial Day holiday, ABC's, CBS' and NBC's Monday telecasts were coded as specials and excluded from the weekly average. In addition, due to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 on Wed (6/1), "The Tonight Show" was retitled The Tonight Show-JL & was excluded from the average.

ABC News' Nightline is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. John Donvan and Juju Chang are correspondents. Jeanmarie Condon is the Executive Producer. The program airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network.

(Week of May 30, 2011)

TOTAL VIEWERS A25-54(000)/Rtg A18-49(000)/Rtg

ABC Nightline 3,862,000 1,736,000/ 1.4 1,500,000/ 1.1

CBS Late Show 2,687,000 1,061,000/ 0.9 768,000/ 0.6

NBC Tonight Show 3,618,000 1,630,000/ 1.3 1,304,000/ 1.0

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 Live + SD weeks of 05/30/11, 5/23/11 & 5/31/10. Live+7 (where available) & Live+SD for Season-to-date 10-11 vs. 09-10 (9/20/10-6/3/11 vs. 9/21/09-6/4/10).

Fringe Ratings Report: ABC Late-Night Programming Week of May 30, 2011

With its Best Performance in Nearly 1 Year, ABC Wins the Week in Adults 18-49

ABC's Nightline is No. 1 in Total Viewers for 15 Straight Weeks and for the 13th Time in 15 Weeks Among Adults 25-54

Hitting Season Highs, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live Achieves its Best Young Adult Number in 1 Year

JKL is Broadcast's No. 2 Entertainment Program in Late-Night in Adults 18-49

Tuesday and Thursday Airings Stand Among JKL's Top 5 of the Season in Late-Night in Adults 18-34

ABC Late-Night (Monday - Friday)

During the week of May 30, 2011, ABC turned in its best Adult 18-49 number (1.018 million) in late-night in nearly 1 year -since w/o 6/14/10. The Net grew 11% over the prior week (918,000 on w/o 5/23/11), posting the largest week-to-week gains in late-night of any broadcast network (CBS was down -32%, NBC was up +3%).

Additionally, as the only broadcast network to build its numbers over the same week last year (w/o 5/31/10), ABC was up by 4% in Adults 18-49 (1.018 million vs. 978,000) to grow its young adult audience year-to-year for the 4th time in 5 weeks.

· For the 2nd week running and the 4th time in the last 5 weeks, ABC stood as the No. 1 network in late-night in Total Viewers (2.345 million), outdrawing CBS by a season-best margin of 19% (1.968 million) and NBC by 4% (2.262 million).

· ABC also finished No. 1 for the week in late-night in young adults (1.018 million) for the second week in a row, topping both CBS (597,000) and NBC (899,000) by its largest margins of the season (+71% and +13%, respectively).

Nightline (Monday - Friday)

During the week of May 30, 2011, ABC's Nightline ranked No. 1 for the 2nd straight week across each of the target demos: Total Viewers (4.862 million), Adults 25-54 (1.736 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.500 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. Nightline finished No. 1 in Total Viewers for 15 straight weeks, while taking the top spot in Adults 25-54 for the 13th time in the last 15 weeks.

Nightline posted week-to-week gains in Adults 25-54 (+2%) and Adults 18-49 (+12%). In fact, the ABC program attracted its largest Adults 18-49 audience in 6 months (since w/o 11/22/10) and 2nd best of the season.

For the 4th time in the last 5 weeks, Nightline improved on its performance on the year-ago week in all key target demos: Total Viewers (+2%), Adults 25-54 (+6%) and Adults 18-49 (+6%). In fact, Nightline posted year-to-year increases in 15 of the last 16 weeks among Total Viewers and in 11 of the last 12 weeks among Adults 25-54.

· Season to date Nightline ranks first in late-night among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49. This is the first time ever that Nightline has been in first place at this point in the season since at least the 1993-94 season, when Letterman began on CBS. In addition, Nightline is up by 5% in Total Viewers and by 4% in Adults 25-54 compared to the same point last year. Season to date Nightline is drawing its largest overall audience in 8 years - since the 2002-03 season.

Jimmy Kimmel Live (Monday - Friday)

During the week of May 30, 2011, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live turned in its best performance of the season in both Adults 18-34 (347,000) and Adults 18-49 (834,000). In fact, building on the previous week by 39% in Adults 18-34 and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (249,000 and 755,000, respectively, on w/o 5/23/11), JKL scored its best numbers in both key Adult demos in almost 1 year - since w/o 6/14/10.

In addition, JKL increased its overall audience year to year for the 11th time in the last 12 weeks and grew its Adult 18-49 audience over the year-ago week for the 4th time in 5 weeks.

· Among key Adults 18-49, ABC's JKL (834,000) was the No. 2 late-night entertainment broadcast program, beating CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman by 9% (768,000), NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon by 8% (772,000), CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson by 89% (441,000) and NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly by 80% (464,000). In addition, ABC's JKL topped Comedy Central's Colbert Report by 9% (766,000) and TBS' Conan by 118% (383,000) and Lopez Tonight by 274% (223,000).

· JKL's Tuesday telecast (5/31/11), which featured guests Carson Daly, Flavor Flav and I See Stars, was the ABC late-night program's 2nd-best telecast on any night in late-night this season in Adults 18-34 (484,000). In fact, posting a season-best on the night in young adults, Tuesday's telecast drew JKL's largest A18-34 audience on the night in almost 1 year - since 6/8/10.

· On Thursday (6/2/11), with guests Jason Sudeikis, Piers Morgan and Lykke Li, JKL posted its 4th-strongest telecast on any night in late-night this season in Adults 18-34 (449,000). Hitting season highs on the night in both Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49 (1.011 million), Thursday's telecast scored JKL's best young adult numbers on the night in nearly 1 year - since 6/17/10.

Late-Night Rank (Week of May 30): TOTAL VIEWERS A18-49(000)

ABC 2,345,000 1,018,000

CBS 1,968,000 597,000

NBC 2,262,000 899,000

*Note: Due to the Memorial Day holiday, ABC's, CBS' and NBC's Monday telecasts were coded as specials and excluded from the weekly average. In addition, due to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 on Wed (6/1), "The Tonight Show" was retitled The Tonight Show-JL & was excluded from the average.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day National Program Ratings for week of 5/30/11, 5/23/11 & 5/31/10 or as dated. Comparisons based on 000s. ABC Late-Night = Nightline and JKL; CBS Late-Night = Letterman and Ferguson; NBC Late-Night = Tonight Show, Fallon and Carson Daly.